Xaver Schlager #4

Profile

In Austria, there is a running joke that once the last fan has left the stadium and the lights have gone out, Xaver Schlager is still chasing the ball. He is a cornerstone of Rangnick’s system: a presser, a ball-winner and exactly the sort of player opponents hate to face. That he can do plenty with the ball as well became clear at Leipzig and, above all, with the national team. Michael Gregoritsch has said his teammate “has also developed enormously in terms of leadership.” Schlager, who spent part of his childhood at boarding school – “a tough school, but a very educational one” – is a grounded person who, in 2025, opened a restaurant in his home town of St Valentin called Dorfrichter. Injuries have set him back in recent years, but he appears to be getting back to his best just in time for the World Cup.

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